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Thursday, April 25, 2013

The ranks of the world's billionaires have yet again reached all-time
highs, both in terms of the number of billionaires and record
net worth. The United States still has more billionaires
than any other country, but once again the world's richest person comes
from outside its borders. Here are the top 3 billionaires of the world.

Carlos Slim Helu is the world's richest
man for the fourth year in a row. He clocks in at $4 billion more than a
year ago, thanks to surging stock prices at his financial arm, Grupo
Financiero Inbursa, and at his Grupo Carso industrial and retail giant.
Pan-Latin American mobile telecom outfit America Movil remains his most
valuable holding at $36.3 billion; the company spread its wings to
Europe in the past year,
buying pieces of Dutch telecom company KPN and Telekom Austria. Other
listed companies focus on mining, real estate and infrastructure. Slim
does not hold an executive position at any of the companies he controls,
but remains engaged and advises on strategy. He put his sons, Carlos,
Marco Antonio and Patrick, in charge of the industrial, finance and
telecom companies he controls.In September America Movil bought stakes
in two Mexican professional soccer teams; in November Slim bought a
majority of struggling Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo. Early 2013 saw a
surge in Slim's philanthropic activity. The Carlos Slim Foundation
pledged to translate into Spanish 1,000 videos from the Khan Academy
education nonprofit website. Slim also hosted Bill Gates in late
February; the two men announced they are funding research to improve
farmers' yields and reduce hunger.

#2 Bill Gates

Net Worth

$67 B As of March 2013

Co-Chair,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Age: 57

Source of Wealth: Microsoft, self-made

Residence: Medina, WA

Country of Citizenship: United States

Education: Drop Out, Harvard University

Marital Status: Married

Children: 3

Gates' net worth increased
$6 billion to $67 billion in the past year - with no help from the
company he cofounded, Microsoft, in which he still has a 5% stock. Most
of his fortune these days is spread across private equity, bonds, and
stocks like hygiene tech firm Ecolab, Mexican TV broadcaster Televisa,
and Latin America's largest beverage company FEMSA. In February, Gates
said the only thing left on his bucket list was, "Don't die."

#3 Amancio Ortega

Net Worth

$57 B As of March 2013

Age: 77

Source of Wealth: Zara, self-made

Country of Citizenship: Spain

Marital Status: Married

Children: 3

Spain's Amancio Ortega is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion.
He moves into the top three among the world's richest for the first
time. He stepped down as chairman of Inditex, best known for its Zara
brand, in 2011, but still owns nearly 60% of its shares, which soared
50% year-over-year on record profits. Ortega also has a real estate
portfolio, much of it acquired at bargain prices during
the financial downturn, estimated to be worth more than $4 billion.
Among his properties: the iconic Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in
Madrid (Google is a tenant), which he purchased from billionaire Esther
Koplowitz in 2011. He also owns buildings in Madrid, London, Chicago,
San Francisco and New York. A railway worker's son, he started as a
gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire,
he started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. In
December 2012, Spanish media reported that Ortega paid half a million
dollars to prevent paparazzi from publishing photos of his daughter
Marta and her equestrian husband Sergio Alvarez on their honeymoon in
Cambodia and Australia. Marta, who works for Inditex, is reportedly
expecting a baby boy.